Symbolism is a way of giving a story much deeper meaning. If The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe did not parallel with many aspects of Christianity it would still be a lovely story, but it would lack the depth that exists because of the way those who understand the Christian faith relate to it. It can also go the other way; for those who read this story and do not have a deep understanding of Christianity it is an introduction into the religion from an insider’s perspective. It allows the reader to experience Jesus’ power and kindness through Aslan, or Satan’s trickery and deceit through the white witch. Concepts that one would normally have to spend time studying to understand were presented in a few hours of light reading. The symbolism is also beneficial for helping children to understand Christianity. For a parent who wishes to teach their children Christian values, this novel can be a wonderful introduction into a complex system of beliefs.
In the Bible it teaches that God created all of the earth and is the ruler of it, though Satan tries to gain power over the world (“The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe”). In the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Aslan is a God-like character, specifically symbolic of Jesus, and the white witch is symbolic of Satan (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”). It is said in the book that Aslan is the rightful king over all of Narnia. Though the witch has been ruling it for quite some time, Aslan will soon return and defeat the witch (Lewis 85). Lewis shows through his story that while evil may seem powerful when one faces it head on, the power of good is always superior (Bloom 11). This is similar to Christianity’s view that Satan has some power in the world but that Jesus will ultimately overpower Satan (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
It has also been said that Edmund represents Judas who betrayed Jesus in the Bible, as Edmund was working with the white witch and caused Aslan to be killed at the stone table. However, it’s possibly more appropriate to view Edmund as representing all of mankind rather than Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus and caused Jesus to be captured and killed by the Romans. Jesus accepted their charges against Him, knowing He was dying to free all of mankind from the consequences of their sin. Edmund did not help the white witch kill Aslan, instead Aslan offered himself as a sacrifice in Edmund’s place to free Edmund from being killed by the white witch making Edmund more similar to mankind than Judas. (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
When Jesus was killed He was mocked and tortured, but He endured it willingly to free humans from the consequences of their sin. When Aslan was being killed on the stone table to save Edmund from the consequences of his betrayal Aslan was also mocked, tortured and shaved to strip him of his pride. There was great focus on how both were treated prior to their death rather than just focusing on the death itself. Just as Jesus endured the cruelty against Himself willingly in order to die as a sacrifice for mankind, Aslan died willingly to atone for Edmund’s betrayal (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
Both Jesus and Aslan were then also brought back to life, overcoming death rather than being overcome by it, showing an immense amount of power that nobody else is capable of (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
(D'soouza, "Narnia & Passion of Christ")
This video shows a comparison of the accusation, torture, death and resurrection of Aslan as portrayed in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Jesus as portrayed in the movie The Passion of the Christ
When Jesus was killed He was mocked and tortured, but He endured it willingly to free humans from the consequences of their sin. When Aslan was being killed on the stone table to save Edmund from the consequences of his betrayal Aslan was also mocked, tortured and shaved to strip him of his pride. There was great focus on how both were treated prior to their death rather than just focusing on the death itself. Just as Jesus endured the cruelty against Himself willingly in order to die as a sacrifice for mankind, Aslan died willingly to atone for Edmund’s betrayal (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”). The severity of the tormentJesus or Aslan had to endure possibly affects people more than the actual death itself (Campbell and Jackson, "Good, not safe").
Both Jesus and Aslan were then also brought back to life, overcoming death rather than being overcome by it, showing an immense amount of power that nobody else is capable of (Perry, “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
Edmund’s first encounter with the witch proves to be a very meaningful one. When he first meets her she offers him something to eat and he requests Turkish delight. Through this she is able to win his trust, and she also asks him to bring his siblings to her in order to get more of the treat. She was aware of the effect it would have on him and that she could get him to do things he may usually not do in order to get more Turkish delight from her. This is symbolic of sin. In Christianity it is believed that Satan uses sin to get a foothold on people. Once someone begins to sin by indulging in something that they know they shouldn’t, he continues to trick them and lead them further into sin. This continues unless there is a sacrifice of someone to die in their place to free them from the sin they’ve already committed. In Christianity it’s Jesus and in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe it’s Aslan (Gleghorn, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Reflections on Its Meaning.”).
In the beginning of the novel Lucy found Narnia and went back to tell her brothers and sister about her discovery. However when she got to them and told them they didn't believe her. They believed that she was being childish and made up a story about falling through the wardrobe into a secret world. In an attempt to show them the truth Lucy brought them to the wardrobe and got them to look inside. Instead of being able to travel to Narnia, they found a plain old wardrobe (Lewis 26-27). By not making Narnia accessible to everyone Lewis was acknowledging a difference between those who were able to get through and those who were not. It could be that he was trying to point out that those who are more grounded in the material world cannot get into Narnia but those who are open to spirituality past the material world can (Holbrook 32). Since Edmund was also able to enter Narnia (Lewis 30) we have to consider what Edmund and Lucy may have had that Peter and Susan did not. As Edmund and Lucy had very different personalities in the book, the only obvious connection seems to be that Edmund and Lucy were the youngest children (Lewis 2). It was only after the professor had given them the idea that Lucy may not have been lying that the oldest two siblings are able to pass through the wardrobe and into Narnia (Lewis 50-54, 60). As the oldest children were not able to enter Narnia until they were given hope by the professor, we can assume that this is representative of the teaching from Jesus that no one will enter Heaven unless they have faith like a child (New International Version, Matt. 18:3).